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Those wild and crazy kids of the Jersey Shoreare already stirring up some controversy in Italy though they have yet to arrive for the filming of their 4th season.

See while MTV confirmed earlier this year that season four of the super mega hit show will be filmed in Italy, the show had yet to actually air in the country. That all changed this week when the show made its debut on Italian television, and let’s just say the Italians are no fans. In fact, the cast is now on the receiving end of some major backlash.

“They embody the worst stereotypes of Italians, multiplied by thousands and Americanized,” wrote columnist Roberto Del Bove in Rome newspaper New Notzie.

It only gets worse as a preview of the show posted on an MTV Italia website drew some nastier comments.”When I see this, I wonder whether [Osama] Bin Laden had a point,” lamented one poster, going a bit overboard perhaps.

“Slicked hair, exaggerated narcissism, boundless love for the family and outlandish eccentricity” is what was written about the show in another popular Rome newspaper, Corriere della Sera.

The Italians might be happy to know that only part of the fourth season will be filmed in Italy. This isn’t the first time the Jersey Shore clan has been criticized for their shenanigans as the show also drew major ire from Italian-American groups during their first season, leading to some boycotts by advertisers.

Love them or hate them, the show is definitely here to stay as the season 3 finale last week drew record ratings for MTV, with over 7.6 million viewers tuning in.

Speaking of season 4, RadarOnline is now reporting that there is a contract dispute brewing with some of the cast members. Apparently, cast members “Snooki, The Situation, JWoww and Pauly D have not finalized their contracts because they can’t agree on the amount.”

“As of last week Deena hadn’t signed her contract either but Ronnie, Sammi, and Vinny were done,” reveals a source, um does Deena not realize she’s very expendable?. “Time is short, everyone is getting concerned because they’re supposed to leave for Italy soon, I just hope they can settle it,” the source adds.

The cast also went through contract disputes last year as they went on a short strike before season three; eventually negotiating a 200% raise from $10,000 to $30,000 per episode.

And finally, the reunion show airs tonight on MTV at 10/9c. We will revisit the top moments of the show with the cast and also find out why Sammi and Ronnie broke up again for the 2000th time back in January.

TELL US – THE ITALIANS, THEY HAVE A POINT NO? PLUS THOUGHTS ON THE REUNION SHOW?